“D.O.A” is cool, I get it. The Young Berg’s of the game have rendered the vocal effect somewhat corny and rinsed out. The thing that irks me about this song isn’t the fact someone is speaking out against the overuse of the auto-tune, its the fact that the one doing it is Jay-Z. It’s just out of character.

Let me start by saying, I’m probably this continents biggest Jay-Z fan stan. From the age of around 13 I’ve been obsessed with everything Roc-A-Fella. I know this mans lyrics back to front, from the “In My Lifetime” single to present day, and regard him as the artist that convinced me to make a career of this rap music. But beside Shawn Carter’s music, what made him the God MC was he was simply the coolest cunt alive, who’s trendsetting in pop culture was unrivaled in the late 90’s and the larger part of this decade. He always had that overly nonchalant persona too, reiterating his point by telling cats he’s “not a rapper” and that he was using rap as a vehicle to get out of the drug game, though he was simultaneously penning verses better than anyone… ever. This made the purists look like disgruntled old heads who didn’t understand the new wave of Hip-Hop, and before you knew it Young Hov had the culture eating out the palm of his hand.

It must be said though, he has always been more of a trend ambassador rather than creator. Others would catch the waves earlier, but he would surf it at its apex, better than the rest, so everyone on the shore knew he had owned it. He had a knack for knowing what was hot, and solidifying it as the rule of thumb in the industry. After Biggie and Nas’ seminal work with DJ Premier in the mid 90’s, he enlisted him to provide the gritty backdrop for his first two albums, marking some of the high points in both their careers. He also dabbled in the Bad Boy shiny-suit-80s-sample craze, marking a low point. Then in 1998 when the Ruff Ryders were riding high with Swizz Beatz’ Triton fueled soundscapes, and Timbaland had the world bouncing with Missy and various R&B acts, Jay-Z used their electro sensibilities for Volume’s 2 and 3 marking Primo’s decline from the mainstream and Diddy became known as more businessman than musician. In 2000 Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele gained critical success for bringing back the soul, and Jay in turn got with youngsters Kanye West and Just Blaze to make the classic’s Dynasty: Roc La Familia and The Blueprint, meaning the Swizz’s of the world were bout to take a long hiatus from the spotlight. With clothing it was the same. You can find Big Boi rocking Mitchell & Ness throwbacks in the Aquemini booklet, but Jigga made it his own with the “throwback jersey and a fitted” line. He subsequently killed the fashion two years later, favouring the grown man look of a “crisp pair of jeans and a button up”. Hov embraced the trends of his culture, and let them enjoy unparalleled heights of success, then would end them before they grew stale. They were always his trends though, that he chose to love and leave at his pleasure, never coming off as an attempt to take away from the next man.

He has also never been one to abide to the the conventional laws of Hip-Hop. When folks were labeling Master P as moronic and talentless, he’d shout him out in songs as having the “hottest shit” out. When everyone outside of New Orleans were perplexed by Juvenile’s “Ha” he blessed the newcomer with a verse on the remix. When everyone was claiming Swizz’s production was worse than Hitler, he used those weird ass keyboard slides and presets to make anthems like “Money Cash Hoes” and “Jigga My Nigga”. Shit he did a verse for Punjabi MC! The mentoring of emerging talent, that people weren’t ready to recognize, continued throughout the years. He gave Kanye his first platform to spark his career as an MC. He took T.I. (a then local success only) on tour to open for him, Lupe too. He advised his Mrs to throw Lil Wayne on the “Soldier” remix, and the list continues.

This brings me to my point, when did Jigga become the disgruntled old head? The man that would say “rapping ass niggas, y’all funny to me” has for the first time voiced his displeasure with what’s hot, crusading for real hardcore Hip-Hop. And its hard for it not to come off with a tinge of jealousy. Jay-Hova using auto-tune would be hilarious, so its kind of like a skinny chick telling her girl to lose weight cause her ass looks nice’n’round in that dress. Jay-Z has explained that he’s cool with the handful of guys that patented it doing it, but the BET Awards was a perfect example of how that doesn’t add up as Jamie Foxx and Drake had two of the biggest songs of the night, auto-tune and all. Is it OK if the songs dope? Is it really “D.O.A (Unless Its Good Yo!)”. And then we have T-Pain, a confessed buffoon, disrespecting Jay-Z on the stage he made the premier Hip-Hop event, Summer Jam, which bookmarked the moment in time where his clout had officially faded. I’m not disheartened by the fact that Jay-Z is actually the Michael Jordan of rap. Verging on billionaire status, best to ever do it, but still trying to flex skills in a game that has changed dramatically since his heyday. I gain new levels of respect for those that continue to do their art against the odds, simply for the love and passion they have for it. Whether its MJ dancing his ass off at 50, or Jonah Lomu dreaming of an All Black start with a bung kidney. A better analogy is when a far past his prime Charles Barkley dissed Allen Iverson for “not playing the game right!”. Bitterness doesn’t suit super heroes. I guess Jigga said it best on the classic “Heart Of The City”, “oh you not feeling me? fine/ it costs you nothing, pay me no mind…what you eat don’t make me shit/ where’s the love?”.

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PNC – What’s Up (produced by P-Money)

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A lot of my friends are jockin’ this track, which I give about a 6 out of 10. The video is what happens when you enlist every extra from The Air Up There to recreate “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” in your living room. Can’t tell whether I like it more or less now. Kanye’s still the mantis for doing whatever the fuck he feels like.

If your feeling this, peep Royce Da 5′9′ - “Shot Down”. Mean.

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Out of all my singles, this is the most comprehensive reflection of the shit I actually listen to, ha. Featuring supremely talented newcomer Mz J. Produced by the homie Forty One. Pump ya fist like its 86′ and enjoy.

PNC - Take Me Home feat. Mz J

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If your views differ from that of the homie Racial (”hip-hop > sports!”) you will probably agree these finals were the most interesting since the Bulls dynasty.

I’ve heard a lot of talk about how the big three dominated the Kobe Show, which is true, but when it comes down to it the championship equation is easy… Thoro niggaz = rings. Look back at all the championship teams of the past few years. whether it was Bruce Bowen, James Posey, Robert Horry, Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant or whoever, they all had multiple dudes who’s job it was to do nothing but down and out dirty shit and get under the skin of the other team.

It became evident early on that the Lakers bench were a group of frightened puppies compared to the pitbulls on Boston’s squad. Posey & PJ Brown didn’t show up much in the stats, they just annoyed the shit out of lames like Farmar and Radmonovic. The most telling point of the series was when lil’ ol’ Sam Cassell slammed Sasha Vujacic A.K.A David Dallas to the floor and just laughed. In the final game while up by about 37, Big Baby ran the floor and stuffed in someone’s grill and Tony Allen caught a reverse alley-oop. The Celtics role players were ruthless. The Boston Three Party is no stranger to thoro’ness either. Between them they have been stabbed 11 times, repped Bloods on court, had a threesome in a Spike Lee movie, and named their dog Big Pun. So with that in mind, here are the two things L.A. needs to do next season…

1. Get a thug/thug’s
The Lakers need to do anything they can to get Ron Artest. He would be the perfect fit. Solves the confusion at small forward, can score sufficiently, exceptional on D, and crazy as fuck. Either him or give Kimbo Slice a one year contract. Even if he cant dribble a ball, his intimidation factor would suffice.

2. Embrace Compton, not Hollywood
The Celtics come out to 50 Cent, the Cavaliers come out to Jigga, the Lakers come out to…. The Who. Classic band but, when you rep the home of N.W.A and Death Row there are countless hits that I feel would top the CSI theme. Dre Day, Straight Outta Compton, Bow Down, Hit Em Up, the possibilities are endless. And fuck Beckham and Ashton Kutcher, how about Suge Knight and the Boo-Ya Tribe courtside.

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Not him, but me.

PNC feat Chong Nee - “Find Me” FREE DOWNLOAD

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props to Warren Green on the direction tip

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Bit late for mothers day, but this lil’ dude is the mantis. Hes got swag out the wazoo and proves you don’t have to write tech to say some heartfelt shit.

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